Newsdesk

British Girl Warns Officials of Pending Tsunami

HONG KONG — As a deadly tsunami approached the Thai beach resort of Phuket on Dec. 26, the only warning came from a little British girl who had the good sense to pay attention in geography class a few weeks earlier.

On holiday with her family, Tilly Smith, 10, remembered what she had learned back at school in southeastern England. She recognized the water's weird foaming and swirling as a precursor to a tsunami. Smith screamed at her parents to get off the beach. After a moment's hesitation, they did. About a dozen other tourists fled with them to higher ground. Minutes later, 15-foot waves lashed the Thai coastline.